From The Perry Mason TV Show BookThis episode features all the standard elements: a successful husband, his bored wife, the freeloading, bloodsucking nephew, an $80,000 robbery, a crooked accountant, and a naive secretary accused of murder. Luckily, Perry can handle these cases in his sleep.

That little pistol that Alice Gorman uses looks to be a Browning “Baby” 25 (caliber). It's about 4" long and 3" high. Holds 6 rounds, I think. Watch for this gun in other Perry Mason episodes, it’s pretty distinctive in B&W film with its pearl handle. Submitted by billp, 31 October 2009.

Location: Quick shot of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse 32 minutes into the episode. Submitted by Eric Cooper, 28 September 10.

Character Names: Paul Drake reveals that Stan Piper’s full name is Stanley J. Piper. Submitted by gracep 10/15/2010. + Anomaly: The Prosecutor’s name, as stated by Paul Drake, is Deputy D.A. Jack Alvin. No explanation as to why this is omitted from the credits. Submitted by gracep 10/15/2010.+ No Anomaly: Credits are used to identify actors. Since the casual viewer probably would not remember the name "Jack Alvin" (it was only mentioned once before he appeared) the word prosecutor was used instead. Since he wasn't identified as a Deputy D.A. in this episode those words weren't used either. Submitted by Wiseguy70005, 3/17/14.

William Campbell, better known to Generation X for his appearances on the original Star Trek, makes his second appearance on Perry Mason. See trivia item for episode 78. Submitted by gracep 10/15/2010.

Sightings: On the second day of the hearing, Distinguished Gentleman #1, Quiet Old Man #1, and “Miss Carmody” are all sitting together on the defense side. Read more about these recurring spectators as you ask yourself, Who Is That? Submitted by gracep 10/15/2010. + “Sasha Magaloff” can be seen as well seated in various places about the courtroom. Submitted by daveb, 4/2/11.

(3)1960 Mercury 4-Door Hardtop Sedan, medium-color, model indeterminate (Monterey or Montclair). Alice Gorman flees the burning cabin in it. Note the hand marks in the dust forward of windshield as she gets in. Exact same car appears in next episode & is seen to be Montclair;

(5)1960 Ford Galaxie Special Sunliner convertible, black, top down, Della drives! (Her first drive was in ep#7) This is Perry's New Ford for Season 4, replacing his '59 Skyliner. The hand smudges on the window-sill of the driver's-door will still be there in the next episode!

1960-61 was LA's "Driest water year (4.85”)" up to that time. Were the cars dirty due to dust storms, brush fires, car-wash restrictions or greasy fingers? Submitted by Gary Woloski, 9/6/12.

SEASON PREMIÈRE. This ep#98 was the Season Première (Season 4) according to the daily TV listing on page 51 of THE NEW YORK TIMES on Saturday, 1 October 1960:

7:30 4-Perry Mason.The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker.Perry is hired to rid a businessman of his larcenous, free-loading nephew.(Seasonal premiere.)

New York's Ch2 was & still is WCBS. Toronto's Ch4 was WBEN TV Buffalo, then a CBS affiliate. On the same page 51 of THE NEW YORK TIMES, don't miss Jack Gould's negative review of Episode 1 of The FLINSTONES (debuted the previous night, 30 Sep 60). Gould wrote: "the show was an inked disaster". Review reproduced here, scroll ↓ 6 paras. Added by Gary Woloski, 2/22/13.

Even considering today’s “anything goes” mentality, this episode seems racy to me, i.e., the nephew having a “relationship” with his aunt-in-law. It must have been seen as particularly bold in its day. Submitted by billp 6/14/09

$80,000 in 1960 would be worth about $576,324 today. Submitted by billp, 6/14/2009.

Sue Randall makes her first of two appearances on Perry playing murder defendant Betty Wilkins. Every baby boomer will remember Sue Randall much better as Beaver Cleaver’s grade school teacher, Miss Alice Landers. Sue Randall died at the age of 49 in 1984. Submitted by PaulDrake 33, 06/26/2009.

Notice when Alice Gorman leaves the cabin which is on fire, she enters her car from the passenger side and awkwardly scoots to the driver’s side. It makes little sense in reality since entering on the driver’s side is what most folks do, especially if they are in a hurry. But from the camera’s point of view it makes perfect sense since she stays in frame for the entire scene. Submitted by Kenmore,
11/10/2009.

Funny how William Campbell who played "Trelane" in the Star Trek episode reminds us a little like Liberace in that Star Trek episode and is shown at the end of this episode, when revealed by Paul Drake wearing a "Liberace" style hat ! ;-) Submitted by HamBurger, Aug. 24, 2014
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Perry ID's Beautiful Cocktail Waitress as Frances Banks near the end in court but she never gets a credit. Anyone know who she is or if she appears in other episodes? Eric C 16 Aug 16
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"The Case of the Ill-Fated Artful Dodging Faker." At several points in this episode, Paul Drake refers to Jim Ferris's having at least one alias, but never supplies it. One can only wonder whether Ferris's alias might be Allen Sheridan (See Episode #78, TCOT Artful Dodger), another scheming nephew--also played by William Campbell--who's trying to bilk money out of a wealthy relative by claiming that gangsters are putting the bite on him. Submitted by BobH, 3 December 2016.